


pink envelopes

by spacegal



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bisexual Prompto Argentum, F/M, It's Cheesy Romcom Fluff, Love Letters, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2020-06-29 20:48:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19838239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacegal/pseuds/spacegal
Summary: In which the awkward nerd girl does awkward nerd things to deal with her feelings for a certain sunshine boy.





	1. sincerely

**Author's Note:**

> original note: i havent written in a while, i kinda feel rusty tbh. eh, i'll get over it. this chapter is kinda bad? hee hee sorry 
> 
> anyways this fic is gonna be so cheesy and so cliche i hope youre ready bc i sure am this kinda stuff is my jam bro
> 
> new note: im embarrassed of these first two chapters lowkey but i cant bring myself to rewrite them aduihsfduakh so yeah. 3rd chapter gets less bad

_Dear Prompto,_

_I really like you and it's kind of gross._

_You're not really that gross, but it's more this whole feeling thing. I hate feelings. I have them a lot, and it kind of sucks._

_I can't stop thinking about you, and it is so annoying. Quit it, will you?_

_Last week, in stats, there was a word problem we had to do. It mentioned something about oceans, lakes, whatever, but it didn't matter, because I couldn't concentrate. All I could think of was your eyes. They're so blue and full of life, and wide and happy. I think if I look at them too long I might have to start swimming. I wish I could look at them more often, but I get so nervous when I make eye contact with you, so I can't._

_Anyways, back to my story. I got so lost in thinking about your eyes that I didn't finish any work in class and had a ton of work to do at lunch. So, you suck. And you owe me lunch—if you ever figure out who I am._

_Sincerely,_

_(I don't know how to sign this off. Secret Admirer sounds really cheesy.)_

* * *

In a truly ironic moment, Prompto's eyes widen as they scan the letter. His freckled face grows red and he quickly shoves the letter into his book bag, slamming his locker shut and briskly walking down the hall. He quickly throws open the door to his classroom and rushes over to his friend's desk, smacking the letter on the corner of it.

"What the hell?" A groggy voice croaks, pulling his head off his arms. 

"Noct, dude, you've got to look at this!" Prompto says, pointing at the now wrinkled pink envelope. He quickly pulled the letter out of it and handed it to his friend, who quickly skimmed through it and scoffed. 

"I know what you're thinking, and this isn't Cindy. She doesn't take stats." Noct says, placing it on his desk. 

"When did I ever say that?" Prompto pouts, slouching into his chair and taking the letter off his friends desk. 

"Lucian mind control."

"There's no way that's real!" 

The door of the classroom slides open, and two other boys enter through the door. A girl slides in after them, and beelines for her seat. 

"Gladio, get a load of this!" The blonde says, holding his wrinkled piece of paper in the burly man's face. He takes the letter out of his hands and quickly reads it, while the other looks over his shoulder. 

"It's not Cindy, we're in the same math class and it's not stats." Gladio says, handing the letter back to Prompto, who snatches it back into his hands.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?"

On the other side of the classroom, (Name) (Last name) is shoving everything in her bag around, trying to find the fattest textbook she owns so she could hide from her classmates. She has her statistics book, which would be a good contender, but if she pulled it out now she might die of embarrassment. She runs every scenario through her head.

 _She pulls out her statistics textbook and hides her head under it. Gladiolus giggles--_ wait, no, Gladiolus can't giggle. _Gladiolus guffaws_ (that's more like it). _He points his giant, beefy finger at her and says "What if it's (Name)?"_

_Prompto cringes, crumbling up the paper. "Ew, gross. Never mind."_

Or maybe...

_Prompto laughs. "Yeah right, you're funny. I bet it's some hot girl that isn't (Name)."_

Either one would be really bad, so she pushes the statistics book deep into her bag and pulls out chemistry. Her face felt like it was on fire, and she happened to open it up to the thermodynamics page. Great. She tries to listen into the boys' conversation, trying to focus on people that aren't Prompto so her cheeks will cool down.

Noctis Lucis Caelum sits to the left of him, and there's really only one word to describe him. Hot. Or rich. Or emo. Okay, maybe more than one word. 

He's the heir to a pharmaceutical conglomerate, and he was more than well off. His dark hair is long, falling right below his ears, messily framing his face due to his constant napping. He skips class a lot, and sleeps most of the time when he does show up. He's really popular, since he's really handsome and really rich, but he doesn't have many friends. He has his girlfriend, Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, another hot and rich person, his beautiful ass car, and his friends, Ignis Scientia, Gladiolus Amicita, and of course, Prompto Argentum. 

Nope, no, no Prompto. Not in this moment. Too embarrassing. 

Gladiolus is mainly friends with Noct because their fathers are business partners, but they're pretty close nonetheless. Gladio is tall, buff and horrifying. He has full tattoo sleeves, and he's two years older than Prompto and Noctis, making him a senior, just like Ignis. (Name) doesn't talk to him much, since he's scary and stuff, but he posts pictures of him camping on Instagram constantly. Really, she knows Ignis best out of the group.

Ignis is one of her top competitors, even though he's (Name)'s upperclassman. He gets incredibly good grades in incredibly hard classes, and the two were always neck in neck during finals. He congratulated her on test scores often, asked her about certain assignments in math, and was all-round a regular classmate. She didn't dislike Ignis, her competitive nature just always found her a little annoyed at him.

Prompto, if you couldn't guess it, is (Name)'s big, fat crush. He's the living embodiment of sunshine, with bright blue eyes, a huge smile and freckles dusting his cheeks and nose. His personality is optimistic, happy and so, so... sunny.

(Name) is pretty shy, so she doesn't interact with anyone very much, but Prompto's bubbly personality draws her in. He's kind and encouraging, but other than that, (Name) doesn't know why she has a crush on him. He's outgoing, but he sticks to his own group, and the two have talked about twice the whole year. 

She knows she shouldn't be so infatuated with someone she doesn't know, but she can't help it. It was getting hard to deal with those feeling things, considering that she never really spoke to him.

So in the most disgusting, tacky, Drew Barrymore-style romcom move, she wrote him a love letter, and signed off as a secret admirer. It was really gross, especially considering (Name)'s tendency to collect cute stationery with fluffy bears and hearts. Thankfully, no one had commented on that yet--

"Aw, look at the fluffy bears! She's gotta be a cute girl..." Prompto said, pointing to the paper in his hand and sighing dreamily. 

_Oh for_ _fucks_ _sake._


	2. regards

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i barely edited this, sorry

_Dear Prompto,_  
_You remind me of stars._  
 _You have a bright personality and you light up the room and I can't look you straight in the eye. Which is kinda like the sun. And your freckles look like little stars._  
 _I have a hard time with words. Not really writing, but I have a hard time talking, I guess. I was pretty okay writing your last note, but I got so much stuff off my chest that now I'm kinda... lost. Like I'm floating in a pool of feelings for you._  
 _So, today's note is short. I just thought I'd let you know that I'm not getting up from falling for you just yet._  
 _Regards,_  
 _Astronaut (Get it? It's 'cuz you remind me of stars? Okay, I'll leave.)_

* * *

(Name) sighs, opening her locker and reaching into it. She doesn't know what she wants from it, but she opens it anyways to look like she's doing something.   
Her locker is four lockers away from Prompto's, meaning that it's pretty easy for her to slip a note in it every morning.   
This morning, he's here pretty early, dragging a very drowsy Noctis behind him. The two are chatting about something, but she isn't listening because she's shoved her head into her locker.   
These days she's found it even harder to look at him, which was the exact opposite of what she wanted. The idea of him finding out that she was the one who wrote all those cringe worthy letters made her skin crawl.   
When they leave, she quickly walks to her first period; world history. She heard from some upperclassmen that they were going to get a group project soon, and if she wasn't looking forward to it. Most of the time she ends up doing all of the work, but she doesn't have the guts to call out her classmates.  
When she opens the door to the classroom, she looks at the whiteboard and curses at herself for jinxing it.   
She walks up to the list of groups, trying to find her name.   
When she sees it, she feels the weight of the world come crashing down on her weak shoulders.  
Prompto Argentum and (Name) (Lastname)

* * *

When the school bell rings, Prompto waves Ignis goodbye and walks into his world history class. The seats are arranged in twos, instead of the usual single desk setting, and he looks at the board to see the announcement of a group project. He grins in excitement and heads over to the group list, eagerly looking for his partner.  
He really likes group projects, since he likes working with people way more than doing stuff on his own.   
His partner is (Name), a girl that sits in the front of the class. She's always answering questions in class and getting good scores on tests, so he's pretty happy about getting her.   
She's seated in the front, like always, and she reading and highlighting a textbook. He clears his throat, and when she looks up at him, he grins.  
"Hey, you don't mind if I sit here, right?"  
"Uh... no, it's fine."  
He slides into his seat.  
"So, we're partners. I'm Prompto, by the way."  
"(Name)."  
He grins, and takes his notebook and laptop out of his backpack.  
"What topic are we picking?" 

* * *

(Name)'s hands are clamming up.   
She's never looked at Prompto this close before, and now that she has, she think her letters are an understatement. His eyes are in fact, very blue, and his skin is so clear and his smile is so bright. He's also really sweet.  
"Uh, I don't know. W-we have a lot of free will with this project, so I say we do something cool. Like life in Ancient China or something? We don't have to if you don't want to though..."  
"That sounds really cool! We can still think about it though, 'cuz you don't sound so sure." He takes his phone out of his pocket and (Name) takes notice of the chocobo strap on it.  
'Cute...'  
"Can I have your phone number?"   
(Name) blushes and takes her own phone out of the pocket in her backpack.   
"Yeah, sure."  
_"Great, now where are we meeting for our date, darling?"_  
"Uh- what?"  
_"What are you talking about babe?" Prompto asks, tilting his head to the side. "You know it's our anniversary tomorrow."_  
 _"O-oh, is it?"_  
"Uhm, your phone turned on." Prompto— _the real Prompto—_ says, tilting his head at the girl's spaced out expression.  
(Name) jolts in her seat, her entire face flushing as she tries her best to hide her face with her tiny phone.   
"Sorry."  
"No, it's totally okay!"  
She sighs. What is wrong with him? Why does he have to be so kind and understanding all the time? It's not making her job of getting over her crush any easier.  
"So what's your phone number?"  
(Name) recites the 12 digits, and Prompto quickly types them in.  
"Here, I'll text you so you have my number."  
He sends a photo of an angry chocobo and (Name) snorts, saving his number as "Prompto from History" in her phone.  
"Anyways, we can talk about this later."  
"Yeah."  
At that, the teacher starts today's lecture.

* * *

"You are so lucky, you got with a smart person." Noctis grumbles, taking a bite out of his sandwich.   
"I know, right?" Prompto says, snatching an apple from his friend. "I'm just worried that she'll wanna do all the work by herself."  
"You're worried about that?"  
"Well, yeah. It's a group project."  
Noctis sighs.   
"I wish I had half your work ethic."  
"I'd feel bad if I didn't do anything. Also, she's cute. Disappointing cute people is not a Prompto policy."


	3. hear from you soon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ik this style is different from the first two chapters but as the plot moves more my writing gets more detailed oof. sorry :')

_Dear Prompto,_

  
_I think that people are weird._   
_I've always thought this, and I don't know what spurred me on to tell you this, but people are very odd, and you and I aren't exceptions._   
_I know I'm odd, seeing as I write love letters to someone who barely knows I exist and talk about how beautiful I think he is, but I've been trying to find out what makes you different. First, I thought it was how nice you are to people no matter how they treat you, or that you hang out with Prince Noctis (God Save His Majesty), but I don't think I should count those as oddities. Now I'm just stumped._   
_I don't like the fact that I can't dissect you._   
_God, that sounds creepy. Let's reword this, shall we?_   
_I can't figure you out. It's kinda annoying. I pride myself on being able to see through people, and I think my pessimistic world view is what gets me through life without getting hurt._   
_This is way too serious— blah, blah, you're cute, I like you, hee hee._   
_Anyways, I wanted to ask you something._   
_Do these letters make you uncomfortable? I realized that I've just selfishly given you these to deal with my own feelings, not even thinking about yours. That is really asshole-y of me, and I'm sorry. Please tell me if you want me to stop._

  
_Hear from you soon,_   
_Scientist (I think my bad puns make you the most uncomfortable.)_

* * *

Prompto smiles as he reads through the contents of his letter, waiting for his seat mate in history.

His secret admirer was considerate and cute, and that's all he had to go off of. That could be half the school! Noctis can be cute, and he was pretty considerate. The girl in his English class— he couldn't remember her name— was somewhat considerate, and rather cute. Hell, even (Name), with her hardworking and uptight attitude could be his admirer. 

He snorts to himself, placing the letter back in his bag. Like she would even pay him the time of day. She could never do something so bold and risky.

It made him think: could she? He didn't know her very well— not many people did. She kept to herself, mainly focusing on her studies instead of socializing. She was kind to people who spoke to her, but she never really took the initiative to talk first. If she had friends, he's not aware of them, as she spends most of her lunches in the library studying or in the faculty office volunteering. Studying and hard work seems to be a defining trait of hers, and it overshadows everything else. He heard girls in his class talking about her before, comparing her personality to a sheet of blank paper.

If she was a blank sheet of paper, he was a page from a coloring book.

They were pretty much polar opposites, he concludes. There's no way she could be his secret admirer. 

Said girl quickly slides in her seat, the sound of her textbooks hitting the desk pulling Prompto out of his trance. He glances at her, noticing that her tie was messy and her hair was sticking out in places it usually didn't. 

"Good morning..." The girl meekly greets, barely making eye contact with her seatmate, who gave her a wide grin. She places her pencil case on her desk near her seatmate, and he takes notice of the cute cat design on it. 

"Mornin'!" He smiles, placing his hand on his chin. She blushes, and he takes notice of it, but chalks it up to shyness. It was kind of endearing, like watching cat videos.

"Well, I found out that we don't get to pick any topic on the project..." The girl mutters, pulling out her laptop. "The teacher emailed out a list. I-I was thinking about doing ours on Eosian mythology?"

"Oh, like astrals?"

She nods, and Prompto places his backpack on the desk. He pulls out a dark blue book and dusts off the cover before showing it to (Name). She glances at the title, looking over the gold embossing, before reaching for it and skimming through the back cover.

"Cosmogony?"

"I borrowed it from Noct. His dad studied the six, but he never became a full time devotee. They have a ton of stuff about it at his house, and most of his relatives are devoted followers. His family's kind of famous for it." 

(Name) muses about the fact, the image of the brooding dark haired teen crossing her mind. So he's not just rich— he's blessed by the gods. She _knew_ that wasn't an average person's jawline. 

"That would be helpful..." She pushes a pencil to her lip, placing the book back on the blond's desk. "I'll need to find a creative way to explain all of the six without regurgitating the story everyone's heard a billion times."

"Let's meet up after school then!" 

"Huh- What?"

She didn't know if she was more shocked about the fact that he was going to participate, or if she was flustered at the thought of hanging out with _the_ Prompto Argentum. Not that she minded either— she heard that he was a pretty creative guy. Plus, she was not going to complain about spending time with him.

"Yeah, we can go to a cafe and think of some ideas. What station do you transfer trains at?"

"Uh, G-Line."

"Woah, me too," He says, his eyes widening. He's never seen her at the station before. Maybe she got to school early? That reminded him, he didn't ask her if she was a part of any clubs. She didn't exactly seem to the type, if he was going to be honest, but she probably joined one because it looks good on college applications.

"How about the coffee shop near the station?" He suggests, giving her another bright smile. She squints a bit, trying to think of the cafe he was talking about. She tries to remember all the stores around the area— she usually rushed home everyday, ignoring most of the world around her. There was the Crow's Nest, but that wasn't a coffee shop. She knew there was an underground mall, but there are no cafes there. Now she understood her mom's nagging about her needing to get out more— she passed by this station every single day, yet managed to ignore everything around it.

"We can walk together, if you'd like," Prompto suggests, looking at her confused expression. "Let's meet up after 7th period."

"That... That would be nice."

"I'll text you, so turn your phone on after school, okay?"

The girl nods in agreement, looking to the front of the class as the teacher walked in. She can feel how warm her face is, and she brings her left hand up to her cheek to cool it down. The last time she remembered hanging out with a friend was in 8th grade, so saying she was excited was an understatement. Plus, Prompto is _Prompto_. 

She had cherry lip balm in her locker, so maybe she'd put some on during English? It probably didn't make much of a difference, but if she's really being looked over by a guardian angel, he might kiss her. It's better to be safe then sorry. Maybe they'd learn stuff about each other, like about his pets or his siblings.

It made her worry, though. She really didn't know much about him. Her affection was probably skewed by his good looks and outgoing persona, but maybe once she learned more about him, she wouldn't like him anymore. Maybe _he_ wouldn't like _her_ anymore. She couldn't deny that she was being superficial, but she also couldn't help herself. He was just so... perfect. 

She was looking at him through rose colored glasses, and she couldn't bring herself to take them off. 

* * *

"(Name)!"

The girl looks away from her phone and towards the voice, realizing that it belonged to the blond that she's been looking for. He walks towards her, and she looks towards the floor to avoid making eye contact— she was getting kind of sick of this whole blushing thing. 

He looks at her, waving his hand in front of her face. 

"Uh... (Name)?"

"Y-Yeah! Sorry, there was just a real interesting thingy on the floor."

"What thingy?"

(Name) nods, holding her index finger in the air as her other hand cradles her own chin. 

"That's the thing about the thingy— if you look at it too long, it disappears."

Prompto raises an eyebrow at the girl, giving her an amused smirk as she laughs nervously. 

"Should we get going, my dude?"

"My dude?"

"Yeah, bro!"

"Bro?"

(Name) quickly strides down the hall, looking down at the floor again to avoid embarrassing herself more than she already has. Dude? Bro? What was she trying to do? She barely even knew the kid, and based on what everyone thought about him, he obviously thought that she was being a total tryhard. 

He thought it was kind of cute, like watching an animal try to type. Maybe she did have a sense of humor, and he could tell that she wasn't the blank sheet of paper that everyone talked about. She was just too shy to show any of her personality. 

He couldn't really figure her out. 

* * *

'If my guardian angel exists," (Name) thinks, staring at the crowd of people standing at the train platform in front of her. 'I must have pissed them off.'

Insomnian trains were usually pretty bad, especially around the time schools got out. She thought that she had adapted to life in the big city, but every time she heads home, she thinks otherwise. 

"This isn't even the citadel..." Prompto sighs, looking down to the floor. (Name) simply nods in response, leaning on the wall. 

The blond boy looks her up and down, trying to think of a conversation topic to use. He didn't know if she had any interests, but Prompto Argentum is the master of small talk.

And he has yet to be bested.

_(Name) (Last name) has challenged you to a battle!_

_Prompto used mutual complaint!  
(It's not very effective.)_

_(Name) used meek nod!  
(It's somewhat effective.)_

_"Do you seriously do this everyday?"  
Prompto used a confusing statement! (Name) can't help but ask!_

_"You don't?"  
(Name) inflicts damage against herself! K.O!!_

"I've been catching rides with Noct since he's gotten his license. We all have— that's Gladio, Ignis and I."

"His car is so nice..." (Name) mutters, playing with her fingers. "Is it true the interior smells like money?"

"It defines stinkin' rich."

"That was bad." (Name) giggles, looking at her seatmate. He liked her smile, it looked like it belonged there. She shyly tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, scratching at the back of her neck.

"It was amazing, just admit it." He grins, his eyes smiling along with him. "Hanging out with rich people has made me wise beyond my dollars."

"Wait, aren't you one of the rich people you hang out with?" (Name) asks, raising an eyebrow. She's immediately flustered by her own blunt nature, and she holds out her hand in front of her. "Uh- sorry, no, that's not what I meant to say—"

"You're fine!" He assures, poking the middle of her palm. "I get that a lot, but nah. I'm just your average guy. My foster parents are decently well off, but again, I'm nothing special."

"I think you're special."

It's Prompto's turn to be flustered, and his cheeks flush a light pink, accentuating his freckles. He looks to the side, scratching the back of his neck. Was she _flirting_ with him? No, no way she'd do that. It was out of character, definitely, but oddly... smooth.

"God, what am I saying..." the girl mutters, looking to the floor. "Sorry, that was weird. It was in the heat of the moment."

"It was nice of you."

"Thanks."

* * *

"Okay, that should be good." (Name) nods, closing her laptop and looking at her phone for the time. They'd been working for about 4 hours, but it was no big deal for her. Her mom was working late anyways, but she wanted to be home before it was too dark.

"We're almost done with the research parts, just have to print them out," Prompto says, closing his own laptop and stretching. He takes a sip of his drink, stirring it with his straw. "I have a printer at home, so I'll take care of it."

"Do you... want to do this again? The whole studying thing. I mean, we're almost done with the project and we have 3 weeks, so we don't have to do it soon, but..."

"How 'bout Saturday?"

A weekend hangout! This was coming straight out of a shitty shoujo manga; but she wasn't complaining.

"We can go to the craft store, then head to my house and do some work."

"Will your parents be okay with that?"

"They're never really home, so it's fine. I'll text you."

"Okay."

"You're really smart, (Name)," Prompto says, placing his chin on his hand as he gazes at her. "You're not really what I expected, dude. We should be friends."

"I... I would like that, bro."

"Are you going to be fine heading home?"

(Name) nods, following behind the blond as they head to the train station. They walk together in a comfortable silence, letting (Name) think for a bit.

She liked Prompto, and she couldn't deny that. She knew he didn't return her feelings, but she liked how he felt about her. She liked how he saw her as a friend, even though she felt more. She felt content. 

Maybe it was because she never really had friends, but there was something about this that made her happy. 

She didn't want to ask for more.

* * *

Prompto sighs, drying off his wet blond locks as he sits at his desk. He didn't have any homework other than that project, so he could focus on what he wanted to do. He pulls a yellow envelope out from his desk drawer, placing it next to his chocobo pen.

His thoughts drift to (Name) as he looks for a decent sheet of paper to use. 

He was interested in her, but not in a romantic way. It was more like curiosity, trying to figure it out who she is behind the heavy textbooks and straight As. She was definitely not just the boring facade she put up, and that made him want to learn more. 

His secret admirer was a lot more honest than (Name). They were a bit of an oddball, someone not in touch with their feelings but trying to figure it out. They were a person who could just move their pen and string words together, and that was also interesting. He didn't know anything about them, though. Maybe it was someone he knew? It might've been Ignis, he takes stats. Ignis was good looking, and he wouldn't mind dating him, but he couldn't see Ignis thinking about him that way. He wasn't exactly ideal partner material.

'I think you're special.'

Prompto shakes his head, picking up his pen and pushing it against his lips as he thinks of what to write. Maybe he just needed to copy his secret admirer, and write whatever came to mind. 

If he did that, he realizes, he'd scare his admirer off.

* * *

_Dear Secret Admirer Person,_

_Hi! I bet you didn't expect me to respond, huh!_  
_1st off: You're not creeping me out, and I'm fine with this. Thanks for asking, though! Your letters are sweet._  
 _Just so you know, I don't think there's much of me to dissect. I'm just like anyone else! Feel free to keep trying, just avoid cutting me open, will ya?_  
 _I don't really know what to say, but this is just me saying hello. Maybe I'll reply more often, then I'll get better at this whole writing thing. Could you give me some tips?_

_Love,  
Prompto._


	4. yours truly

**From: Noct**

**To: Prompto**

_hey u wanna come over_

**From: Prompto**

**To: Noct**

_Yeah sure_

_Wait actually no, I have to work on the project with (Name) today._

_Maybe later tonight_

**From: Noct**

**To: Prompto**

_omg... ur hanging out with a girl on the weekend..._

_they grow up so fast :(_

_stay overnight tho my dad is on a trip and im lonely_

**From: Prompto**

**To: Noct**

_Kay I'll text you when we're done._

_I know right B) Next thing you know I'll have 2.8 kids and a 401K_

**From: Noct**

**To: Prompto**

_whos gonna kiss me goodnight if ur married bro :(_

**From: Prompto**

**To: Noct**

_Hmm I dunno, maybe your girlfriend?_

**From: Noct**

**To: Prompto**

_ewwwwww girls have cooties_

_plus luna doesn't have your sparkling blue eyes that remind me of the ocean and dont let me focus in stats_

**From: Prompto**

**To: Noct**

_Shuddup. I'm gonna leave now_

_Also she literally has blue eyes???_

* * *

Prompto sighs, clicking his phone off as he sits up in his bed. He moves his bangs out of his face, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he yawns. He wasn't really paying attention to what time it was, but if Noctis was the one who woke him up, he was sure it was after ten.

He had stayed up pretty late last night, writing the letter. It ended up being short, and it didn't have much substance to it, but it was the best he could do. 

He kind of felt bad for his admirer. Their ability to put their feelings on paper was something _he_ admired. Was this something that came naturally to other people? Was he just weird? Was there really more to him than just cheery eye-smiles and stupid jokes and flirty pick up lines? 

He had lost of questions, but not that many answers.

He grabs his phone again, noticing that it was half past nine. He opens up the messenger app, shooting a quick text to (Name), before heading over to his bathroom and splashing cold water on his face. 

'Today will be a good day.'

* * *

_From: Prompto_

_To: (Name)_

_Hey! When and where do you wanna meet up?_

(Name) stares at her phone, her hair disheveled, and she squints her eyes scan her bright phone screen.

Her now widened eyes dart to her closet, and she quickly types back a reply as she reaches for the door. She looks around her clothes, looking around for something to wear. 

School uniforms were her saving grace, in all honestly. Considering how much she liked to sleep, not having to think about what she wore was good, great even. 

It wasn't like she didn't own clothes that she liked; she did leave her house, after all. This was different though. The huge crowds of the citadel and the packed subways and the stores ridden with people made her nothing but a bystander. She was just like everyone else when she wasn't at school, and she didn't know how she felt about it.

Was she scared of standing out? That couldn't be it, since her plainness was exactly what made her stand out at school. Was she scared of showing weakness? Vulnerability?

She had lots of questions, honestly. But she could answer them. She'd just needed time to think about them.

Running a comb through her hair, she heads down the stairs and puts on her shoes, letting the empty house know she's leaving before looking into the mirror near the door.

(She doesn't know if she sees herself.)

* * *

"Hey, (Name), do you have club stuff to do after this?"

Prompto returns the puzzled look that the girl gives him as he scans her outfit. He didn't really care about what people wore, but he was a little confused as to why she was wearing her dress shoes and uniform skirt on a Saturday.

He wasn't necessarily surprised about what she wore. Her clothing represented her outward persona pretty well, grey and bland as people say she is. It fit the blank paper analogy pretty well; she didn't stand out very much compared to Prompto's flashy dark red shirt and bright white pants.

"Uh, no," She answers, pulling the sleeve of the cardigan over her fingers. 

"Ah."

The conversation comes to a halt as they walk towards a craft store near Prompto's house. It was still rather early, so the usually packed streets of Insomnia felt like a wasteland compared to its usual bustling chaos. The foreign feeling of almost silence made (Name) pretty uncomfortable, and Prompto couldn't deny that he felt the same way. 

"So..." He starts, sticking his hands in his pockets, "You like grey, huh?"

"I guess I do."

"Well, then what are your hobbies?" The blond boy asks, looking down at his classmate as they turn a corner.

"Um, I like to study."

"I-is that so?"

The girl sighs, pressing her nails into her palm under her sleeve. 

"I'm sorry, I'm not all that interesting," She mutters, facing away from her classmate's gaze. 

"You don't need to apologize for things like that," He assures her, waving his hands out in front of him. "You can't blame yourself for your personality."

A blush creeps onto (Name)'s face as she continues to avoid the boys gaze.

"Unless..." He starts, a wide grin making its way to his face, "You have this badass double life you won't tell me about."

At that, (Name) turns to look at the blond, cocking an eyebrow at him as her lips tug at a smile. 

" _What_?"

"Ooh, I bet..." Prompto rubs his chin with his thumb and index fingers, as if he was deep in thought, and after musing for a couple seconds he snaps his fingers in conclusion. 

"Maybe you're a student by day, but idol by night!" He accuses, watching the girl cover her mouth as she laughs.

"No way." She waves her hand in front of her face, shooting down his idea. "Do I look like an idol to you?"

"If anyone is the idol here, it's you," She adds (but only in her head so no one can hear her.)

"You'll have to prove it to me." He stands in front of her, stopping her from walking ahead. She tilts her head as she looks up at him.

"And how do I do that?"

"Do the thing." He places his thumbs on his head, bending down the rest of his fingers except his pinkies.

"Oh god, no." She says, covering her mouth again as she laughs.

"Nico, nico, nii, right?" Prompto asks, unable to stifle his own laughter as he looks down to his classmate. 

"That was so bad," She says, dragging out her vowels. "Poor, poor Nico Yazawa."

"Am I not idol material to you?" He teases, nudging her with his elbow.

(Name) finds herself in a rut. Does she tease him back? Are they good enough friends for that? Sure, she knows what sarcasm is, and she's pretty good at using it, but is it her place? She could assume that he expects an equivalent exchange of mockery, but then again, she started it, and since she doesn't really know his boundaries, she could mess up and--

"Uh, (Name)? Are you alright?"

"Uh, oh, yeah! Let's get going, alright?"

Prompto smiles to himself as he watches her briskly walk ahead of him. 

_'Things I've learned about (Name) (Last Name) without her telling me:_

_She's very cute._

_She's probably into idol groups.'_

* * *

The Argentum household, (Name) finds, is blissfully boring.

The walls are all painted a pristine eggshell white, occasionally covered with thick black picture frames holding minimalist art. The plants are obviously fake, with their overly glossy leaves and uncanny pristine quality. Their house was obviously not a home, as it showed signs of barely being used; it was the place you had just to please your parents and fulfill your wishes.

"Will your parents mind me being here?"

"They aren't here," Prompto hums in response as he reaches to remove his boots. 

"Oh," (Name) says, slight relief washing over her. She had a feeling they were pretty strict, and she was really scared of authority.

"We can work in the dining room." The blond walks over to a large circular table, placing the poster board and stack of paper on top of it. "Let me just go get some stuff from my room."

"I'll help." (Name) toys with her fingers behind her backs, hoping he doesn't notice her ulterior motives-- looking at her crush's room.

He probably had lots of plush toys-- that matches his cute personality and love for chocobos. Most likely lots of photos of his friends, considering how much he loves them. 

A part of her thought that it might be as plain and unadorned as the rest of the house, and his cheery persona was nothing but a facade. Maybe she fell in love with an idealized version of a boy she knew nothing about. 

But as she opens the heavy white door to his room, her doubts are (thankfully) shattered. 

His room is covered with King's Knight posters-- a phone RPG that (Name) played a couple times until she got incredibly bored, photos from magazine spreads, and landscape photos sprawled around the walls. She was right about the plushies; he has four on his bed, and a fluffy chocobo pillow, and the photos of his friends. But unlike the unflattering selfies she expected, the photos were beautifully composed shots, with effortless color filters.

"Hey, (Name)? You alive in there?"

"Oh, sorry." She blushes, pointing to one of the larger pictures on the wall. "That photo is really nice. Who took it?"

"I did!" Prompto beams, pointing to the camera on his desk. "This was at Goldin Quay last spring break. It's really pretty there."

"Your photos are really breathtaking." (Name) mutters, looking at the other snapshots plastered on the wall. "It's almost like I'm in the photo."

Prompto blushes a little, playing with his fingers as he watches his classmate looks at his photos. Sure, people have complimented him on his photos before, but this felt... different. It felt more _authentic_ , and it made his heart beat a little faster. 

"I want to be a photographer," He says, looking at some of his photos and reminiscing on the moments he shared with his friends. "I don't know why, but I feel so much more comfortable when I'm behind the camera."

"I get it." (Name) nods, not taking her eyes off of the photos. "I'm a lot more comfortable behind paper then I am in real life."

"So you want to be a writer?"

"A professor, actually. I like writing, but I don't know about being an author. I can just translate my thoughts into words on paper really easily, so I feel like I'd be a good teacher."

"Ah, I wish I could do that..." Prompto sighs, looking to the floor. "I can't ever get what I'm thinking into words. Just don't have the skills."

"You have skills that I want, though." (Name) returns his sigh, and he looks at her with a questioning glance.

"What do I have that you want?" He says, as he walks over to his shelf to pick up some markers and paints. 

(Name) slaps her fist into her palm, looking the boy into his eyes as she deadpans.

"Charisma."

"What?"

"I want to make friends. I want to be able to show people my personality instead of having to describe it to everyone. I want to be able to just be myself without being scared." She grabs some of the markers from the shelf and looks at him. "God, this is awkward. I'm going to shut up now."

"No, no, you have something I want," He starts, looking into her eyes. "I wanna be able to understand myself. You think you could help?"

"Why would you ask me?"

"Well, you're smart, for one. But you just feel so _real_. I don't know, you feel genuine. I feel like you understand yourself a lot."

He puts the paints down on the desk, moving his focus to (Name)

"So, let's make a deal."

She clutches onto the pack of sharpies in her hand, waiting for her classmate to continue his proposal.

"You teach me how to understand myself, and I teach you how to get people to understand you. We'll be each others mentors. Each other's Senseis. Like freaking Naruto. Trade off of skills."

She looks at her palm and holds it out to Prompto, looking into his piercing blue eyes as she takes a deep breath. 

"It's a deal."

As she carries off the art supplies into the living room, she notices a yellow envelope at his desk and her heart skips a couple beats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk if im digging this chapter or not but yeahhhhh. i hope you are having a good day :D also dont call me a weeb for the love live reference i am just a man of culture


	5. to whom it may concern

_Dear Prompto,_

_Well, I'm glad that I can keep writing these letters. I don't really know why I'm so drawn to writing them, but every week I sit at my desk and just get giddy about writing these stupid, middle school style love letter to someone who doesn't even know I exist. That's pathetic right? How dumb do I have to be? Why am I doing this? Why can’t I just talk to you and make a frie-_

"What the hell am I doing?"

A crumpled pink paper hits the rim of a metal wastebasket, and (Name) sinks her head into her hands before collapsing onto her bed.

* * *

_"Poggers!"_

Noctis scoffs, putting his controller down to playfully pull his friends ear. "Stop saying that. Every time you do, it hurts me a little inside."

Prompto grins, dropping his own controller to lay his head on his friend’s lap before releasing a melodramatic sigh.

"I'm tired," The blonde says, stretching his hands above his head.

"What, long day?"

"No..." He sighs, taking a teddy bear off of Noctis' bed and placing it over his eyes. "Got a case of the good ol'... what's the word... (Name) used it today, but I don't even know how it came up."

"If (Name) used it, I probably don't know it. Ask Ignis." Noct reaches for a green can in front of his friend’s torso, causing Prompto to groan in annoyance. Noctis shrugs, taking a sip out of his drink before inspecting the can in disgust.

"Iggy!" Prompto yells, hearing Ignis acknowledge his call with a ‘what’. “Come up!”

"I'm surprised you got her to talk, though. I've never heard her speak," The dark haired boy notes, placing his can on the ground in favor of the purple one to his left.

"She's cool,” Prompto replies, “She's really shy though."

"Blank piece of paper, right?"

"I wouldn't say that," The blonde starts, placing the teddy bear on the bed to make eye contact with his friend. “She’s just kind of…”

The door creaks open, and Ignis sticks his head in. 

"You called?"

Prompto sits up, reaching for the green can before greeting Ignis. "Oh, yeah. So I was talking to (Name) today, and she used this word. It sounded... German? It started with a B and it's like the big literature word for 'coming of age' story or something." 

"Hm... Bildungsroman?"

The blonde nods, turning to Noctis. "That was the word. That's it."

"Why didn't you just say teenage angst, you nerd." Noctis says, flicking his friend in the forehead.

"Because when (Name) said it, it sounded so cool. Sophisticated and stuff, ya know."

"You really like (Name), don't you?"

Prompto sputters, his entire face turning red and accentuating his freckles again. Noctis simply continues sipping on his drink, reaching for a bag of chips behind Prompto.

"Are you guys gonna eat any real dinner?" Ignis asks, reaching down to grab an empty bag.

"I don't like (Name). Like, not in the romantic sense, at least, I think she's a cool girl, but I don't see myself dating her."

"Then why are you blushing?"

"Because you're embarrassing me in front of Ignis."

"Fair." Noctis reaches for the chips again, but his hand grips onto air when Ignis snatches it out of his hands.

"Prompto, you want any actual food?"

"I don't know," He barely even glances at Ignis as he huffs at his friend. "She's a friend. We can be friends without dating. I'm your friend, and I'm not dating you."

"But this is (Name). You were having conversations about beetle-dung-roaming. I had 3 classes with her last year and I don't even know what her eye color is."

"(Eye color). And the word is Bildungsroman."

"You, my friend, are proving my point."

"You guys are talking about (Name) (Last name), right?" Ignis says, bending down to pick up another empty chip bag. "Don't insult her too much, that's my rival."

"How'd you even start talking about teenage angst, huh? I never thought she'd talk about anything other than that project you guys were doing." Noctis asks, shooting a teasing glance at his friend.

“We were trying to compare current pop culture to traditional myths. We ended up sacking that idea, but she brought up one really obscure one and that was that.”

“Oh, so you were just studying,” The raven haired boy sighs, “You brought my hopes up. I guess she doesn’t really think much about stuff that isn’t school.”

“I mean, she’s just really shy, I think. She cracked a couple jokes, but she does this thing where she like… makes herself dull on purpose. Like she pulls back and stuff. But when she doesn’t, she’s cool. If she was more open about herself, she’d be pretty popular. So we cut a deal.”

Noctis raises a dark eyebrow, cocking his head to the side to signal his confusion.

“A deal?”

“Yeah. She said she wanted to be more charismatic, so I agreed to help.”

“What’s in it for you?” Ignis asks, throwing a can into the recycling bin in Noctis’ room.

“That’s a secret.” Prompto sighs, hugging the teddy bear again. “A very big secret.”

* * *

“Should I do something with my hair? Would that help?”

(Name) moves her (color) locks behind her ear, looking into a small hand mirror she found in her house. Her gaze anxiously shifts between her mirror and Prompto’s face, trying to find out what to do with her appearance

“Why, what’s wrong with your hair?”

“ _I don’t know,_ Prompto, that’s why I’m asking you!”

The blonde giggles, seeing how distraught the girl is getting over something as simple as her hair. She blushes, looking away from the mirror in embarrassment. He coughs awkwardly and places his hand on her locker to steady himself.

 _‘Oh, holy shit.’_ (Name) thinks, feeling her words getting caught in her throat. She gulps, loudly, and turns to make eye contact with Prompto.

Now, (Name) was no fool. She could be oblivious sometimes, and sometimes she was a little ditzy when it came to socializing, but she knew what was happening right now. All those hours of binging soap operas, reading romcom comics, and playing dating simulators had more than prepared her for this.

‘ _A kabedon! I didn’t know those were real!’_ She draws in a deep breath, reflexively looking down at the floor.

_‘No, you idiot! This is your once in a lifetime chance! Stuff like this is reserved for the movies, so look into his stupid, big, bright starry blue eyes! Do it, do it, c’mon!’_

(Spoiler alert: She didn’t do it.)

Prompto also looks down at his feet, trying to see what she was drawn to on the white marble floor. He doesn’t find anything interesting, but maybe she really liked floors. Or maybe she had some cool shoelaces. 

“Well, do you want to do something with your hair?” The blond asks, looking away from his shoes and down at the girl, who still refuses to make eye contact with him.

“Huh?”

(Name) opens the handheld mirror again, looking into the reflective glass. She usually just tied it up into a bun every day, since it was fast and easy, and it didn’t give anyone anything to look at. It’s not like she didn’t want to do anything with it; but she just... didn’t want to give anyone anything to judge her based on.

After all, you can't color outside the lines on a blank piece of paper.

"I don't know," She starts, leaning her head on her locker. "I've thought about it, but I've always left it the same way."

Prompto cocks his head to the side, looking into (Name)'s eyes as she continues to stare into her mirror.

"Why?"

"Well, I don't know. I'm scared it'll look stupid, I guess."

Pale, long fingers inch towards (Name)'s face, stopping at her temple to push her hair behind her ears. (Name) feels her heart fall into her stomach and her cheeks turn all shades of pink as she slams her mirror shut.

"Maybe you should try it. Not everyone is looking for any opportunity to judge you, (Name). I think you're scared of being..."

"Vulnerable?"

"That's the word."

Sighing loudly, the girl takes the scrunchie reaches for her hair and lets it fall over her shoulders. She shakes her head a couple times, flattening any fly aways at the top of her head.

"Do I look dumb?"

Prompto's blue eyes scan his friend. This wasn't the scene in the high school movie where the nerd girl takes off her glasses and suddenly looks like a model. She didn't really look staggeringly different, she just had her hair down.

She just looked like herself.

_(And that was quite a good look on her.)_

"Not at all." He says, flashing her a large smile. "Do you like it?"

She nods, a shy smile emerging on her face. "I do."

The school bell rings, and (Name) closes her locker.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do my part today, chief," (Name) says, smiling at Prompto. "I'll fulfill my end of the deal soon enough."

Prompto waves at her, heading to his own homeroom as he looks down at the floor.

_'I did learn something about myself today, (Name). I learned that I'm a huge hypocrite.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes im alive!!! hello!!! i feel a little rusty and so does this chapter sighh but its okay. its alright. i gave up editing towards the end so sorry for tense stuff lol
> 
> also yes i made prompto say poggers. sorry.


End file.
